Review and Giveaway: Neato Botvac Robot Vacuum

Dating a sci-fi nerd *and* raising a bona fide comic book geek means I am regularly told that robots will one day rise up and take over the world.

But the good news is that at least in that dark future, my floors will be lovely and clean.

Keeping a clean floor in a household like ours is a constant challenge. We have mostly wooden floors in our house – they’re very beautiful but unforgiving, showing every bit of dirt and dust. Our carpets, meanwhile, are no match for a small white puppy and a child who does not understand the English phrase, “Take your shoes off!” for some reason or other.

A robot vacuum cleaner basically cleans your floor without any human intervention. Turn the thing on, and it will scoot around your home, sucking up dirt and dust, before returning to its charging station.

We’ve been testing the Neato Botvac D85 in recent weeks – the latest model from robot vacuum specialists Neato. Even more exciting, we have a Neato Botvac to give away to one Who’s the Mummy reader – read on for more info!

Features

The D85 doesn’t look like a vacuum cleaner, as you might imagine one. It’s a dinner plate sized circle, about 20cm high. It sits against a wall, flush with its own charging station, which will need to be plugged in. Ideally, your Botvac D85 should be plugged in somewhere there’s plenty of space around it in three directions – this helps with its navigation. You can easily fit Botvac in a cupboard between cleans if you prefer.

The machine uses laser guided technology to scan and map your room or rooms, then plans and methodically cleans, automatically moving from room to room.

The Botvac D85 is an upgrade on previous Neato vacuums, and features a new combo brush that’s designed to work better on pet hair. It is also designed to work on both carpet and hard floors, so perfect for homes like ours.

The brush is bigger than on previous models, which means it picks up more dust. With that in mind, there’s a larger filter and dust bin, which means it should need emptying less often. You can schedule daily cleaning, or push a button for instant cleaning action.

How it Works

Setting up the Botvac is certainly easy enough. We unpacked the robot from its box, and simply slotted in the filter and bin, then turned on. The display screen prompts you to set the day and time, and you’re all set.

To use the vacuum cleaner, you simply push the house icon on the top of the machine – it will then set off on a survey round of the house, checking out rooms, cleaning as it goes.

The machine is designed to be used daily, cleaning little and often, and setting a schedule on the menu is very simple and intuitive, I promise.

The quality of the cleaning is very good – and gets better over time. We found it picked up dog hairs without a problem on wood, lino and carpet. Check out our video at the bottom of the post to see our Neato Botvac D85 in action.

How Good is It?

We have been using the Neato Botvac D85 for a couple of weeks now, and I’m pretty sold. Our floors are cleaner than ever, and it’s funny how much you realise you HATE vacuuming when you don’t have to do it any more!

There are a couple of things to be aware of if you’re thinking of investing in a Neato vacuum, though. Firstly, at almost £400, they’re not inexpensive, although they’re comparable with a decent conventional vacuum cleaner – with some deals online, you can pick one up a little cheaper, though.

Second, the Neato isn’t that quiet. I was surprised by how noisy it is, actually, and as such I tend to schedule ours to run in the early hours of the morning, when it’s not going to disturb anyone. But then you do sort of miss the fun of watching Neato (who will become a bit like an extra pet in your household if you’re anything like us).

Third, the Neato doesn’t have the world’s best sense of self-preservation. On the first day we used it, the D85 took a suicide leap out of the back door and down a step – I found it upside down, wheels spinning, in the garden, making sad BEEP BEEP noises (the Neato makes a BEEP BEEP noise when it’s in trouble and needs manual intervention). Also, our Neato is convinced it fits under the sofa. It doesn’t, meaning I regularly hear the BEEP BEEP and have to go and rescue it, because it’s become wedged halfway under the furniture (if this happens during the scheduled clean, Neato beeps for a help a few times then turns itself off until you get around to finding it).

To avoid challenges, you can put down a magnetic tape that comes with the Neato Botvac and acts as a “no go” signal to the vacuum – we now use this across the back door if it’s open while Neato is cleaning, and across the front of the sofa. It’s easily picked up afterwards, and saves a lot of hassle. We also close the lounge door overnight so Neato isn’t allowed to vacuum in there unsupervised and get into sofa-related problems.

Teddy – our Westie puppy – isn’t at all fussed by the Neato, as you can see at around the 2.30 mark of our video below, where there’s some shameless video-bombing by the four-legged member of our household!

Overall

I have to say that the robot vacuum is one of those inventions I’d scoffed at – until I tried it for myself. It’s amazing how much easier life is when something cleans the floor for you every morning before you get up – and especially in a household with pets and kids, where little food items and bits of detritus are constantly being dropped. You’ll need to invest some time understanding your Neato Botvac’s quirks and where it can and can’t clean without assistance, but after that initial settling in, I’m confident you’ll love the Neato D85 as much as we do.

Win a Neato BotVac Worth £350!

Who’s the Mummy is giving away one Neato BotVac 80 to one lucky reader!

The Neato Botvac is the perfect cleaner for busy households. You can schedule your vacuum to clean when you’re out. The Botvac is also compact – leave it on display or pop it in a cupboard when it’s not in use. The Botvac is compact and light, so you can easily carry it upstairs to clean more than one floor in your home.

All you have to do to be in with a chance of winning this fantastic prize is to leave a comment on this post answering the following question :

Who’s the messiest person in your household and why?

Terms: Competition open to UK adults 18 and over, closes midnight 22/08/15. Prize is non-transferable, no cash alternative. Entry must be made via a comment on this blog post, and via the Rafflecopter widget. Winner will be selected at random from all eligible entries. Winner will be notified by email, details to be shared on this website within two weeks of the closing date. Promoter: Flea Enterprises Ltd, 3a Clifton Sq, Lytham, FY8 5HA

Sally is a full-time blogger and founder of the Tots100, Trips100, Foodies100 and HIBS100 communities, along with the MAD Blog Awards. She spends a bit too much time on the Internet. She's also a very happy Mum to Flea, the world's coolest ten year old.

I’m the messiest person because I do so much cooking and crafting, so if I’m not covering the kitchen in flour and splattered gravy I’m scattering embossing powder and those tiny white squares off foam pads all over the rest of the house.

My partner, I go to the at 6 in the morning and the house is spotless, when I get back it looks like the place has been hit by a tornado. Wet towels on the bedroom floor, pyjamas, the tops off all his toiletries and half drunk cups of coffee littering the place. So I guess it’s definitely him!!

My partner, they are a nightmare when it comes to cleanliness, as they will never put anything away. Even after we had been on holiday I think the suitcase was still in the living roo for about two months afterwards! I am forever picking up after them.

Probably me lol, but it’s mostly because I’m disabled and have a hard time standing/walking, in alot of pain, so it’s hard to clean up all the time. Something like this would really, REALLY be a lifesaver for me.

Definitely my labrador. She leaves doghair and pawprints everywhere she goes and when she has a drink, she trails water all over the kitchen. She does make up for it though, by hoovering up every crumb from the floor!

My two-year-old is definitely the messiest. He hates leaving food on his plate after he’s finished, so unless you spot the moment he’s done eating in time, it always ends up on the floor. Same goes for crumbs from a biscuit, peel from a banana etc. Very frustrating!

MMMM…3 males in the house so who shall i coose. Would have to be husband Simon cos he just drops stuff where it falls, and although he usually picks it up later its still a mess until he does. Good job i love him xx

I think it’s my kids, they are always in and out, especially during the school holidays, with their friends after playing on the field at the back of our house. I’m surprised there’s any grass left on it.

I don’t even have to think about that question…My husband is the messiest person i know as he leaves things everywhere and says he will put them away later but he never gets around to it so i cave in and do it myself otherwise the house would be in a right state.

The lounge/diner. it’s a large room and everthing happens there. The parrot has a cage at one end – so
plenty of dust, bird food and feathers get scattered, the dog has his basket there too at the other end, so we get dog hairs and muddy feet. Also family and visitors are always coming and going.. A heavy traffic area.

It’s not who,it’s what,I have three dogs who trot in and out of the house throughout the day I. have wooden floors,for obvious reasons as they have muddy,graassy paws.It’s seems to be never ending and I have to vacuum up to three times a day,every day,to say I now dislike this chore as it’s never ending.My daughter and grand-daughter also live with us and it’s like having a teenager again.in saying that I wouldn’t have it any other way x

As there is only 2 of us in my house I will say the daughter she will say me but in all honestly I taught her all she knows! #badexample! If this can navigate itself around 300+ barbie/monster high/mlp etc dolls then I will gladly fork out for this!

My 8 year old daughter is the messiest person I know ! She leaves a trail of destruction wherever she goes lol. Her idea of tidying up is to just shove everything in a bag, or cupboard. When she gets undressed there is a trail of clothes just left , she leaves rubbish everywhere she leaves shoes in the middle of the floor, cupboards and drawers open its never ending

My little boy, he can not rest until the contents of any boxes are scattered onto the floor. I now make him do the clearing up of said items, and it is a battle of wills; wanting me to help. However when he finally does clear up he is so proud, ” come look mummy” and we are all friends again 🙂

Erm…probably me. I’m one of those people who uses everything in the kitchen when they cook, and I’m not very good at cleaning up after myself! 😀Emily Knight recently posted..How to make the perfect roast chicken

That’s a difficult one as all my three daughters seem to leave a trail of mess behind but the messiest is probably my oldest daughter. Her bedroom is an absolute pigsty this poor vacuum cleaner would have a lot of beeping to do in there!
Great giveaway

I think we are as bad as each other. The kids are messy, I am a hoarder, my other half leaves things in places..and regularly loses them. So yes we are all as bad as each other!Kelly Wiffin recently posted..Boj – Blast off Buddies DVD review

The wife is messiest, she seems to have an aversion to putting things in bins and will just leave rubbish where ever she happens to be! Also there’s make up everywhere! We have a 6 week old though so I reckon he’ll take over top spot soon enough! Ha ha

Oh gosh, your really review made me giggle! Your hoover sounds a bit like my son actually- convinced he can fit under the furniture he’s got himself wedged a few times and lays there making pathetic whimpering noises until I free him!
If I won this I’m pretty sure I’d end up talking to the thing (not my fault I really want a pet but live in pet-free rented accommodation, curses).

I’d like to think I didn’t need this in my life, but as I don’t yet have a butler and I’m forced to admit that I AM THE MESSY ONE in the house, I really do.

If I won it, would it be bad to not tell my other half and just let him believe I’d suddenly become a domestic goddess? 😉

I am absolutely the messiest person in my household… and bearing in mind I have a 9-month old that’s really saying something! No idea where I get it from but if something can be spilled then no matter how hard I try it’ll end up spilling. Hopefully my baby won’t inherit this from me! x

This is a tough one but taking everything into account i would have to say my partner. In General he`s very good but when it comes to his workspace in the house it honestly looks like a bombs hit it. I tidy it from time to time but have to be incredibly careful as theres masses of notes everywhere and each note is important information. Busy household, messy household but a loving one xx

My oldest daughter. To be fair she studies hard but just leaves mess everywhere. Clothes on the floor, wey towels on the floor, make up everywhere, shoes all over the house, books dumped all around the place I could go on all day. She’s in for a shock when she gets her own place and realises there is no magic tidy up fairy.

I have a husband, and 8 year old and a 1 year old. But I have to say, I am, by far, the messiest person in the house! I hate dirt so I’m always cleaning but I’m terrible for leaving things lying around!

My hubby, when he cooks anything he wrecks the whole kitchen. He even managed to get loads of crumbs on every work surface and in the sink from making himself some toast!Heather Haigh recently posted..Recipe – Slow Cooker HillBilly Beans

Oh dear, I’m the messiest one 🙁 My excuse is that I’m disabled so it’s hard to get around to put things away… but that is, basically, an excuse. I always have been messy. The disability is for the last 20 years, the messiness is lifelong…!

I have got to say my two boys, make mess with breakfast, lunch and dinner! Its me that has to go round tidying it all lol. They really are messy boys!! XxAngela treadway recently posted..Review and Giveaway: Neato Botvac Robot Vacuum

My Pug Ollie, Leaves Dog hairs everywhere this would be great as also my 1 year old is terrified of our large hoover literally screams and shakes hes that frightened so this could be discreet and clean up the hairs without him knowing x Would love to be considered xx

My teenage son without a doubt. He just cannot seem to make it to the washing machine with dirty clothes, or to the sink with used plates, or to the bin with his rubbish! He is also fond of leaving crumbs throughout the house, and don’t even get me started on his muddy football boots. Argghhh!!

The messiest person in my house is definitely my husband. He leaves a trail of destruction behind him as he never finishes a job and just leaves the mess in his wake.Sam Swain recently posted..Stoptober & Go Sober for October Challenge

That would be my beaitiful border collie/german shepherd cross, Max. Has a magnificent, soft & fluffy coat but moults constantly & often drops seeds & bugs etc. collected from walks in the wood, around the house.

It’s between me and the cat. I get more food on the floor than in my mouth most days and between my cat and I there’s hair everywhere. If it’s not mine, it’s his. Okay, I’m probably the worst offender.

My husband. I can’t understand it as his job means he has to be really organised but at home I’m forever putting things back where they should be, putting things like banana skins left on the table in the bin and trying to make him understand that a filing system is not a big box of random paper with other assorted things thrown in.

We have different bits of mess that irritate us, but overall I am probably the messiest. I think it’s because I am always trying to multitask rather than just complete something so that everything is put away.

My husband is an archaeologist therefore I have a permanently messy house covered in a fine layer of dead people dust and old pots that our historical ancestors decided they didn’t want but would look “ace” in my home…

Me because I leave a trail of crumbs around the kitchen. Usually of toast or biscuit origin 😉 My Wife would be a whole lot happier if I was lucky enough to have a robot vacuum cleaner following me around! Fingers crossed

It’s probably me but I also blame the mystery invisible dust person who keeps making everything look a mess every five minutes. Don’t know where it all comes from, but a robovac would certainly help!Robin recently posted..Nine Kings in one room, nine great European currencies…

Well I have to hold my hands up very high & say it’s me & always me but not very far behind me is my 7 year old daughter who seems to take after me in creating mess & leaving it for someone else to tidy up. I’m guilty as charged! Sentence me! LOL

Really impressive! I am sure that the robots will rule the world some day! 🙂 It is really nice to have such a vacuum cleaner. I am a busy mom and for me it is a relief to have a robot vacuum cleaner. I can imagine how great it will be it I don’t have to vacuum! 🙂 Neato in particular seems very nice and pretty “smart”. I like that it moves in a way that allows to clean corners and sides. I love it! Thanks for the review!

My sister when she babysits. Teabags that have missed the bin. Fingerprints on the doors from doing crafts with the kids. Crumbs on the floor because she does not use plates & it goes on. My kids love her so we laugh about it & she does have an excuse, not very good eyesight.

What a great question – I think it must be my daughter, she leaves a trail of discarded toys, rubbish, pens in her wake and never knowingly puts anything away. If she bakes the kitchen looks like a bomb-site and we’ve not seen her bedroom floor for months. Lucky we love her <3

Definitely my boyfriend. He’s really outdoorsy and plays football, goes running, cycles all weekend, and goes rock climbing during the week. The amount of dirt that gets tracked through our house is ridiculous!! This would help me so much!!! Fingers Crossed! 🙂

My daughter, she leaves her plates/cups on the stairs up,to our loft conversion, that is of course, if she can be bothered to bring the, out of her room, I swear her room is,like a,black hole, what goes in never comes out

Probably me, I have so many things I want to do, sewing, books to read, letters that need answering …. I end up with all sorts of stuff everywhere. I would deal with it all and sort it all out if only I had time….

My soldier hubby. He traipses in and leaves a trail of destruction. I’m forever finding socks in random places, empty wrappers, uniform and glasses. He can’t even manage to put his keys in his ‘designated’ area!

Tough one! I would say my eldest daughter. I’m constantly finding banana peel or Apple cores scattered about the house! She never picks up her up toys or puts anything away. In contrast, my youngest is fairly tidy. My husband has a lot to answer for too!

According to my husband its my son who’s the messiest and the fact that he left home 8 years ago doesn’t seem to make any difference. Said son is also responsible for all missing items and never puts hubby’s tools away!!

My Jack Russel cross Rosey. She picks up a mouthful of dried food, drops it on the kitchen mat and then eats bits one by one until she has had enough leaving the rest where it lays. She has a drink from her bowl and then walks away leaving splashes of it on the floor. She empties the waste paper bins to get to her empty crisp and nut bags so she can lick out to salt and then shreds the bags leaving them all around the living room floor.

My daughter, she just leaves everything lying, wet towels on floor, expensive stuff like ipods and laptops, she cannot seem to grasp that when you finish the last of something like toilet roll you replace it with a new one. I could go on and on in exasperation

Maybe it’s Mogwai the Gremlin
Or the spirit of a Victorian Ghost
It could even be ET the Alien
Or Tinker Bell fresh from the coast,
Whoever it is, they’re ‘expert level’ messy
So it couldn’t be baby, hubby or me…

my cat Anya we adopted her from battersea dogs and cats home and she was litter trained unfortunatly she still uses her litter tray she comes in from the garden to use it. So litter goes every where we love her so much though

My son-in-law! He just never ever puts anything away – just leaves it where he has finished using it – clothes, beakers, tools, garden paraphernalia – you name it, he just leaves it lying around for us to trip over and eventually put away out of sheer frustration!

Sad to say, I am the messiest person here (now that the girls have left home, of course). I try not to be, but do like to leave things out to remind me to do them, so our dining table tends to be littered with my notes to self and other bits to remind me of things. I can’t change – if I tidy things away, I forget about them!

To be honest all 3 of my children are pretty messy but I think my middle son is the worst. He sits in his bedroom for most of the day like lord muck, surrounded by plates and cups etc. He even has a melt down when I sneak in and try to hoover. He’s a proper stinker!

My youngest daughter is definitely the messiest person in our house as she pulls everything out but never puts anything away. I often find one of her shoes in the living room and the other will be in her bedroom!

My 14 year old daughter. She takes clothes out, decides not to wear them and throws them on the floor. I don’t know whats dirty and whats clean. Before I started to decorate her room she told me not to move the wardrobe. Now I know why. Rubbish that won’t fit in the bin is in it. It was stuffed full empty bags, sweet wrappers and all sorts of rubbish. No wonder she can never find anything.

Honestly, no one in my family is very tidy, but at the moment the messiest is my son (7). He has an obsession with leaflets, quite literally now has hundreds that get pulled out and spread over every surface! Even our 19 month old is not quite so bad, although she likes to leave plum stones in random places, usually where I might sit…

Oh dear, that will be me I am afraid…. and as I live on my own and am rather messy, this vacuum cleaner would be a welcome housemate. I promise to nurture and care for it if it can look after me. I will roll out the red carpet should one ever appear at my front door… here’s hoping 🙂

My 3 year old son! He has no concept about crumbs on plates and will walk to kitchen holding his plate on the side, dropping all his crumbs on the way.Robyn Logan Clarke recently posted..Debenhams Style a T-shirt

It is NOT ME! even though I live alone. I’m not quite sure yet. I have narrowed it down to two candidates.
1/. I am being burgled on a regular basis. He eats my food and leaves the dishes in the sink. dirty SCOUNDREL.
2/. ALIENS, This is top of the list. I know they are out there. they just want to cause trouble for me, trying to get me to blame my fellow humans.

Don’t worry, I’m on the case. If I win this Vac, then I am sure it has some kind of detector that will rout them out.

My son who’s 24 has to be the messiest person in our household and probably in the universe, if he opens something he drops the packaging on the floor and leaves it there, the floor is his wardrobe, he will enpty the house of every piece of crockery and not think of washing up but the worst thing errrrr is he cleans his ears out and puts the dirty buds next to where he sits and never moves them. #ASHAMED

my partner , its awful , he sits on the couch lets the newspapers stack up for days , along with his laptop tablet fly squatter ,glasses and loads of empty crisp wrappers , he dribbles egg down his tshirts and leave toothpaste in the bathroom sink , im forever cleaning up after him

My husband, he puts his boots on at the front door to walk the dog then comes home and walks all through the house with dirt and muck all over his boots to take them off at the front door ready for the next walk, drives me mad when he says ‘where did that muck come from?’ doh!

My 5 year old son Jack. He will tip his toys out everywhere. If I peel him a satsuma (I obviously put the peelings in the bin) – he will pick the smallest bit of skin off and flick it on the floor. He is like a walking crumb – he literally leaves a trail of crumbs and mess wherever he goes throughout the house

This is an easy question to answer, my just turned 13 year old son. He is honestly like the Tasmanian devil leaving a trail of distraction, messy cloths, dirty cups, crisp packets, football boots, footballs, empty bottles of water, computer games, just to name a few; in is path. Within 10 minutes of finally finishing the tidying up, i have stuff left on the sides, trip over trainers or tread in mud from the boots lol.

its a three way tie between my kids and hubby, my son leaves toys and anything else he touches everywhere, my daughter leaves clothes everywhere, make up marks on towels, loose make up powder all over and mascara marks where she dropped the brush, my hubby leaves oil foot prints from when hes worked on our cars, and i could pull out my hair at times.

Leo the Cat is the messiest person in our house! He is a semi-long haired bengal and moults EVERYWHERE, as well as moulting he has a habbit of playing out in the grass and he comes in then with grass seeds stuck all over him. He also enjoys rolling in the mud and dust and dirt which gets dragged in with him oh and he likes to hunt too so we often get frogs, slow worms, snails, the occasional mouse and bird, He also steals food and brings it home! All in all one messy kitty compared to him us humans are super clean and the other 3 cats and dog help him make the mess tooellie spider recently posted..+ 365 Days 225 – 230

My daughter is the messiest person in my house. Even though we have a large home she has so many possessions and manages to have something of hers in every room the the house. She never puts anything away.

My daughter Rhiannon. Oh shes a nightmare. She leaves everything lying at her tail. never puts anything away and if she does she just throws it behind something. She moans she has no socks, and wonders why, u go in her room and theres millions everywhere gross. went swimming with her pal the other night, and put her bag away in the cupboard with the wet costume and towel still in it!! puts empty packets back. would wear dirty clothes rather than put them in the wash. shes disgusting. i could go on all day about the things she does but it will annoy me lol

My 2 year old Midge, she cannot keep anything on a plate, if she has a bag of crisps she has to tip them all out, eating yogurt results in flicks all over the floor.. she just creates a trail of destruction, crumbs and mess everywhere she goes!Fern recently posted..Tremor by Ryan Mark.

My three year old daughter Her toys are always scattered everywhere in the house and her playdough Dry bits everywhere This roomba will be very handy to clean up the little bits of dry playdough and paper which she likes to rip in little pieces and also our house is so busy with the carers come in 5 times to attend my father in law who had a stroke few years back so I have to hoover my house couple of timesangelina masih recently posted..Top tips for Visits to Disneyland California and California Adventure

Me, I’m the only one in the house normally, but when my son comes to stay with his family, he gets the gold star for messy!!!! Would love to win this prize, sounds like a very user friendly robot to me!!!

It’s a close call with the husband, three boys and a Jack Russell but I’m going to point the finger at my eldest. He leaves a trail of clothing and destruction wherever he goes. The older they get the messier they get!

My daughter Megan who has just turned 3 is the messiest in our house, there are always trails of crumbs or toys behind her, closely followed by her brother connor whos 11 next week, hes always leaving his clothes laid around on the sofa his bedroom or the bathroom xxx

Well you would think my 2 year old twins would win this hands down but our ridiculously big half maincoon cat Sassy lifts food out of her bowl to eat scattering it far and wide and also gets kitty litter stuck between her fury toes which she then spreads round the house. Maybe i could program this to follow her

My fella doesn’t seem to know there’s a new invention called the dustbin (expect when he puts the recycling in it!) so he pushes his rubbish between the wall and the side of the sofa! Our daughter is just as bad, never putting things back. I however am a bit of a hoarder, partly because I WILL fit back into that size 8 piece of clothing I wore as a teenager and partly because I’m too tired to sort through my stuff after clearing up after the other two!

This sounds great to me! Having a robot vacuum cleaner is a dream come true and I really plan on taking one that will help me with reducing the house cleaning work for me. I will be incredibly relieved and will have more time to do fun things. I’ve got two kids and a dog and vacuuming is something that I do everyday. The dog is the main reason for this, actually. Especially in some seasons when he sheds his fur I have to vacuum twice per day. Thank you for the review! :)www.cleanersbalham.co.uk